The simple translation for maya is “illusion.”  When we go further, we find that maya refers to “material existence.”  But this doesn’t mean to imply that material existence is an illusion.  An excellent explanation of this is found in “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra.  He says: “Maya does not mean that the world is an illusion, as is often wrongly stated.  The illusion merely lies in our point of view.  Maya is the illusion of mistaking our relative perspective for reality, of confusing the map with the territory.”  The philosophy behind all of this is that the material world exists, yet it is temporary.  When we see it as permanent, then we are mistaken.  Material things are measurable, they take place in space and time.  What is permanent is the spiritual, which takes place beyond space and time.  The spiritual is limitless, boundless, full of infinite potential.  This is the true reality.